This was an article I wrote for Helium.com.                                                                                                                                                                                How many of you are taking any SSRI’s – antidepressants? Raise your hands. How many of you are taking Clonazepam?  or any anti-anxiety medication?  Raise your hands. How many of you are taking anti-convulsant  medication or anti-psychotic medication? I doubt very many hands if any would rise. However, in a therapy setting quite a few hands would rise because no one would have consequences to fear.

In our society, people are not educated on bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression. There is a stigma. So, individuals who have these conditions are afraid of being “found out” by “normal” people. They are scared of people might look at them differently. Or once “found out” others may fear and avoid them. I have experienced this first hand. I am open about my problems with anxiety and depression. I don’t tell every one that I meet about my problems. However, I write about it. I fear that the neighbor’s daughter will not be allowed to come over to play with my daughter if they read about my issues. I don’t have a job outside the house, I can imagine office gossip. And fear of bosses finding out about conditions etc..

Additionally, this fear of not being accepted by society is a self fulfilling prophecy. The less people admit to having mental disease, the more ignorant society will remain about mental disease. A person with heart disease is not alienated by their peers.They are given sympathy even if they have smoked all their life and contributed to their own suffering. Peoples  sympathies go out to people suffering with heart disease and having to have surgeries etc..But, mental diseases are viewed in a different light. Some think mental diseases like anxiety or depression is an issue that a person should be able to get over without help. Or the people with these disease are to be feared.http://www.helium.com/users/495477 Go to this link to finish th rest of article.